It took 10 years and then some for the Centennial Centaurs to finally beat their crosstown rivals, the Terry Fox Ravens, in their annual Coquitlam Cup high school football game.
And when it finally happened, 13-7 in overtime, Friday night at Percy Perry Stadium, Centaurs coach Dino Geremia said it was affirmation of the long journey back to relevance his program has taken.
“It’s a rivalry that’s been around for a long time but it’s been very one-sided,” he said. “It’s just a great win for our whole program.”
It was also hard-earned.
On a cold, blustery night punctuated with rain through the game’s middle quarters, neither team was able to generate much offence. The wind made pass attempts few and far between.
Instead, the quarterbacks — Rohan Aulakh for Centennial and Zach Golab for Terry Fox — tucked the ball into the crooks of their elbows and fought for every advance up the field. Running backs Jasper Baron and Yudai Morita gutted out their gains a yard at a time.
Both teams scored touchdowns in the first quarter, then the game became a war of attrition, neither side giving an inch.
The Centaurs thought they had won when receiver Doran Geremia pulled down a bullet from Aulakh late in the game. But the play was called back on an illegal procedure penalty — apparently in his scramble to escape Terry Fox tacklers, Aulakh had ventured just over the line of scrimmage when he rifled his pass.
When the referee twirled his yellow flag just a few moments later, confusion reined; was the game over or would there be overtime?
Each team was given the chance to run plays from the 10 yard line.
Aulakh made efficient use of the opportunity, stretching into the end zone on just Centennial’s second run in extra time.
But a sloppy snap on the convert attempt that sent the Centaurs scrambling to track down the loose ball gave Terry Fox a glimmer of hope; if they could score and kick for the extra point, their streak would remain intact.
Suddenly, Centennial’s defence became impenetrable.
Morita and backfield spark plug Renzel Arinaza were swallowed by the beefy arms of Centaurs’ linemen as soon as they got the ball. Golab was forced into a fumble that tumbled out of bounds.
It was, said Geremia, kind of just the way he drew the game up.
“Our game was to move the ball and also take time off the clock,” he said. “We needed to be able to wear down the opponent.”
Worn the Ravens were.
When the final whistle blew, Terry Fox players slumped to the fresh, new field turf that had just been installed at Percy Perry. The Ravens hadn’t won all season and this wasn’t the way they wanted to go out.
Geremia, whose team had only one win headed into Friday’s crosstown showdown despite hanging tough against top-ranked opponents like St. Thomas More and the New Westminster Hyacks, said he wasn't surprised by the Ravens' resilience.
“We’ve been in a few battles the year,” Geremia said. “This was a typical Fox - Centennial rivalry, coming down to the last play.”
